It's the end of the world (as we know it.)

Books are such wonderful presents. Some I request, but many are complete surprises. Mother-in-law surprised me with The Theater of War by Bryan Doerries (or What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today.)

The author begins with a brief description of his education at Kenyon, an autodidact desperate to push beyond perceived limitations in his academic abilities (for example, a mild dyslexia necessitating slow and careful reading) and his innate desire to attract and maintain appropriate mentorship.

He also describes his relationship with a woman with cystic fibrosis who perishes in NYC the evening of March 20, 2003. I cannot say for certain where I am on any given day but I can say for certain where I was on that evening, celebrating the loss of one life while carefully monitoring the progress of a new one.

Also, the Iraq War, which was born that day, and which the prologue of this book suggests will come into play. I've only read the first fifty pages.

What if we had not lost the boy? Each Spring Bad Epitaph had presented a classical work, Hamlet, Lysistrata, The Alchemist. It was my desire to attempt Oedipus next. No one knows that and it hardly matters now. I had no basis for this interest, other than the act of doing it. Story of my life.

Mentorship, university, drama, CF, New York City, the Bacchae, self-production, war, alcohol, the death of children, a little Greek and no Latin, all within the first fifty-five pages. No wonder I cried.

Partner Run
Distance: 2.3 miles
Avg Pace: 12:59
Route: Hockhocking Bike Trail

Solo Run
Distance:  2 miles
Avg Pace: 7:34
Route: Hocking River Bike Trail

The wife and I ran/walked away from campus, got a little turned around but had a very nice run on a day which might be described as "unseasonal." She is working to make the transition from eight minutes + eight minutes with a walk in between to a straight twenty minute run. We will get there.

After she read a book, seated on a bench facing the river and White's Mill while I put in another two miles headed toward the Convo.

My left inguinal ligament has been sore these past two days, no idea why. Lack of regular exercise, sure. Perhaps the drive down ... driving a stick for long distances has become increasingly troublesome. Now that the kids are older we can make the entire trip without stopping, which is great, except for the bits that aren't. Anyway, I was looking forward to a fast run and I got one.

My brief playlist consisted of college music. I don't need to listen to songs from the late 1980s when I run the bike path by South Green, but I do like to. Memories have been tormenting me this year, but when I listen to those songs running through that place, I feel absolved. Or if not, then at least understood.

Temperature: 70°
Climate: overcast and warm
Mood: much better, thank you

What's That Lyric?
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M.

Summer has come and passed.

American Idiot - Green Day (2004)
American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
City of the Damned
I Don't Care
Dearly Beloved
Tales of Another Broken Home
Holiday
Boulevard of Broken Dreams (167 bpm) 
Are We the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Give Me Novacaine (154 bpm)

Extra Lap
Wake Me Up When September Ends

Yesterday, I was dining on my own with the kids and Two Tribes came on the iTunes. They wanted to know what the song was about, which led to a condensed history of Cold War politics, which in my case meant beginning prior to the Crusades leading up to the present, with of course a recap of the events of 9/11 (hence, the Crusades.)

They wanted to know what wars had been going on since they were born, which was an uneasy conversation -- not because I wish to hide unpleasant matters from my children (I mean, I do, but they deserve to know) but because I do not like to make complicated matters simplistic AND I want to be sure they understand.

They bad, we good, does not really tell the whole story, and will lead to problems later on.

In any event, I concluded by lamenting that whereas the Cold War, Vietnam, World War II, have all inspired some wonderful protest music, the Iraqistan Wars did not.

But I had forgotten American Idiot. Enjoy the air show.

Temperature: 86°
Climate: Blazing hot sun ... and rain?
Distance: Who knows. Four miles?
Weight: 175.5 lbs.

For several weeks now, I have not had a decent night's sleep. First it was my right knee, which begins hurting in the middle of the night. Pressure from the left knee onto it when lying on my right, or worse, lying on my left with my right leg slightly bent towards the bed, and it hurts enough to keep me awake.

I have tried different ways of twisting my back so that my right knee rest without anything over it, but then my back hurts, and the last three hours of the night are spent half-awake, turning this way and that.

When I lie on my back I snore, and then the wife wakes me up.

My hip hurts, my knee hurts, my back aches, I have gained every pound I lost in training (did I lose weight during training?) and this is nothing new. It means I have stopped running.

Running past Boulevard School, the wife and the boy were watching the girl practice soccer, I stopped by to say hello. The boy wanted to run home with me. A little too far, and he was wearing jeans, and it was over eighty degrees. But I obliged him with a lap around the soccer fields.

Tomorrow rehearsals begin for the Great Lakes Theater School Residency Program. Summer 2012 is officially over.